This is a collection of words with a tricky twist that might lure you into making a costly mistake. Of course, any true Scrabble player has a practically unbounded talent for confusing words, misremembering words, half-remembering words, remembering words from languages other than the one being played in or even inventing completely new words not known in any language, and a selection like this can barely scratch the surface of what is possible. Note also that I have excluded the large class of 'plurals or apparent plurals with no singular' which I have already covered, see 'Plurals with no singular'.
I have included on the left-hand side a small number of especially plausible phoneys, though naturally these need to be handled with the equivalent of asbestos gloves. They are shown starred and in red.
Further contributions welcome!
Now updated for CSW19. New words, if any, and new inflections of existing words, are shown in red.
abluted | washed clean. No verb ABLUTE*. |
aby abye | the past is ABOUGHT not ABYED*. |
acquite | to acquit: ACQUITES, ACQUITING, ACQUIT. No ACQUITED*. |
addorsed | turned back to back. No verb ADDORSE*. |
affix | past is only AFFIXED, not AFFIXT*, although both FIXED and FIXT are good. |
afflated | inspired. No AFFLATE*. |
agalwood | no AGAL*. |
airmile* | phoney. Try RAMILIE. |
aleying | the verb is ALEYE, not aley* |
aread | or AREDE or ARREEDE but not AREED*. And the past of AREDE is ARED or AREDD, not AREDED*. |
artal | this is a pl. of ROTL (can also be ROTLS), a unit of weight. No ARTALS*. |
atlantic* | phoney. Try TANTALIC. PACIFIC, of course, is OK. |
aurar | this is the pl. of EYRIR, an Icelandic unit of currency: no -S. |
awful | not AWEFUL*. Try WAEFUL. But both AWSOME and AWESOME are OK. |
axe | gives AXING not AXEING*. |
banty | this is a noun: there is no BANTIER* (try ATEBRIN) or BANTIEST* (try TABINETS). |
basho | a sumo wrestling tournament. No -S. |
basifixed | attached by the base. No verb BASIFIX*. |
batwing | an adjective, as in 'batwing sleeve'. No -S. |
bealing | This is a noun meaning 'an infected sore'. There is also a noun BEAL meaning the same. But there is no verb BEAL so no BEALED*. |
begored | covered with gore. No verb BEGORE*. |
beinked | covered with ink. No verb BEINK*. |
bemazed | stupefied. No verb BEMAZE*. |
bemedal | past is BEMEDALED or BEMEDALLED but participle is only BEMEDALLING not BEMEDALING*. |
bendily* | phoney. Try BYLINED. |
bepatched | covered with patches. No verb BEPATCH*. |
beplumed | covered with plumes. No verb BEPLUME*. |
beribboned | covered with ribbons. No verb BERIBBON*. |
berobed | clad in a robe. No verb BEROBE*. |
berouged | covered with rouge. No verb BEROUGE*. |
besped | past of BESPEED. There is no verb BESP*. |
betumbled | in a tumbled state. No verb BETUMBLE*. |
birdie | not BIRDY*. And as a verb it gives BIRDIEING not BIRDYING*. |
birkie | not BIRKY*. |
birlieman | (Scots) an umpire, an arbiter. No BIRLIE*. |
bonkers | crazy. There is no BONKER* to mean someone who bonks! |
brandise | noun only: no BRANDISING* or BRANDISED*. |
briefer | a noun, 'one who briefs', as well as the comparative of BRIEF, hence BRIEFERS. |
briming | phosphorescence of the sea. No verb BRIME*. |
buirdly | (Scots) an adjective meaning 'stalwart'. There is no BUIRD*. |
bustier | a noun, 'a strapless long-line brassiere', as well as the comparative of BUSTY, so BUSTIERS is OK. |
cajun | relating to descendants of the French-speaking Acadians deported to Louisiana in 1755. No —S. |
calmer | comparative of CALM: not 'one who calms', so no CALMERS* (try MARCELS). |
camerated | chambered, vaulted. No verb CAMERATE*. |
cardfile* | phoney. Try FILECARD or FRICADEL. |
cartop | able to fit on top of a car. No -S. |
caseful* | phoney. Try FECULAS. |
catchen | (Spenser) to catch. Infinitive only: no verb forms. |
cerulean | dark blue: this can take an -S but its variant CAERULEAN can't. |
chastize* | phoney, CHASTISE is one of the few -ISE words now without a corresponding -IZE. Try ZAITECHS. |
chylde | designates a youth of gentle birth. No CHYLDES*, although the variant CHILDE does give CHILDES. |
cissing | there is no verb CISS*. |
coadapted | adapted one to another. No COADAPT*. |
cocuswood | no COCUS*. |
comix | this is a plural noun: slang for comics, not a verb so no COMIXES*, COMIXED*, COMIXING*. |
confuser* | phoney. Try FROUNCES. |
cosier cozier | these are nouns, 'a cobbler', as well as the comparatives of COSY and COZY, so COSIERS and COZIERS are OK. |
cottier | a noun, meaning a kind of tenant, not the comparative of an adjective COTTY*. |
crosser | a noun, 'one who crosses', as well as the comparative of CROSS, hence CROSSERS. |
crozzled | blackened or burnt at the edges. No verb CROZZLE*. |
cupolated | furnished with a CUPOLA. No verb CUPOLATE*. |
dae | (Scots) to do: DAES, DAEING, DONE, DID. No DAED*. |
daftie | a simpleton. No DAFTY*. |
damndest | no DAMNDER* (but there is DAMNEDER). |
dapper | can be a noun as well as adjective, hence DAPPERS. |
darndest | no DARNDER* (but there is DARNEDER). |
deleter* | phoney. Try DEERLET. |
dicey | beware the phoney DICY*. Yet both RICY and RICEY are good. |
dodman | a snail. Pl. is DODMANS not DODMEN*. |
durndest | no DURNDER* (but there is DURNEDER). |
daresay | this verb does not conjugate: no DARESAYS* etc. |
dautie | not DAUTY*. |
dawtie | not DAWTY*. |
decanal | an adjective meaning 'relating to a dean' and not a verb meaning 'to remove canals from', so no DECANALS*. Do not believe everything Barry Grossman tells you during a game. In fact, do not believe anything Barry Grossman tells you during a game… |
decoherer | a device for bringing a COHERER back to its former condition after it has been affected by an electric wave. No verb DECOHERE*. |
delurks* | phoney. Try SKUDLER. |
deminer | One ho removes mines, but there is no verb DEMINE*. |
disbodied | disembodied. No verb DISBODY*. |
disbound | not having a binding. No verb DISBIND*. |
disgodded | deprived of divinity. No verb DISGOD*. |
dismoded | outmoded. No verb DISMODE*. |
disorbed | deprived of sovereignty. No verb DISORB*. |
disrelated | not related. No verb DISRELATE*. |
dizain | not DIZAINE*, despite SIXAIN or SIXAINE. Try DIAZINE. |
doomsaying | the act of prophesying doom. There is DOOMSAYER, but no DOOMSAY*. |
doily | or DOYLY or DOYLEY but not DOILEY*. |
dollier | a noun, 'one who uses a dolly', not a comparative, so DOLLIERS is OK. |
dormie | this is an adjective, so no DORMIES*. Try MISDOER or MOIDERS. |
draco | an adjective, as in draco lizard. No -S. |
drapier | comparative of DRAPEY, but also a noun, a draper, so takes -S. |
duckish | not an adjective meaning 'like a duck', but a noun menaing 'dusk', so takes a plural DUCKISHES. |
easter | unlike NORTHER, SOUTHER and WESTER, which can be verbs, this can only be a noun. |
eftest | as soon as possible. No EFTER*. |
egotiser* | phoney. Try ERGOTISE. |
ejector | no EJECTER. |
ekuele | a former standard monetary unit of Equatorial Guinea. No -S in plural, but the variant EKPWELE does take an -S. |
elhi | (US) pertaining to school grades 1 to 12. Adjective only: no ELHIS*. |
embace | (Spenser) to lower, debase: EMBACES, EMBACING, EMBASTE (not EMBACED*). |
emersed | standing out from or rising above water. No verb EMERSE*. |
emptier | this is a noun, 'one who empties', as well as the comparative of EMPTY, so EMPTIERS is OK. |
enfested | (Spenser) embittered. No verb ENFEST*. |
enfestered | festered. No verb ENFESTER*. |
enridged | formed into ridges. No verb ENRIDGE*. |
entrall | (Spenser) entrail: plural ENTRALLES not ENTRALLS*. |
equaler* | phoney. Try LEQUEAR. |
erecter | one who erects. The adjective ERECT does not compare, so no ERECTEST*. |
eroders* | phoney. Try REREDOS. |
exacter | a noun, 'one who exacts', as well as the comparative of EXACT, so EXACTERS is OK. There is also EXACTOR. |
fallguy* | phoney. Try FUGALLY. |
fancier | a noun, 'one who fancies', as well as the comparative of FANCY, so FANCIERS is OK. |
faster | yes, this can be 'one who fasts', so FASTERS is OK. But don't try SLOWERS*! |
feralised | run wild following domestication. No FERALISE*. |
feralized | run wild following domestication. No FERALIZE*. |
fico | takes pl. FICOS or FICOES but the variant FIGO takes only FIGOS. |
frijol | a kidney bean: plural FRIJOLES not FRIJOLS*. |
footrail* | phoney. Try FAROLITO. |
forname* | phoney. Try FORAMEN or FOREMAN. |
forrad | (Scots) forward: FORRADER or FORRARDER, but no FORRADEST*. |
foulers* | phoney. FOULER is only the comparative of foul, not one who fouls. Try FUROLES or OURSELF. |
franker | this is a noun, 'one who franks', as well as the comparative of FRANK, so FRANKERS is OK. |
fratching | quarrelsome. There is a noun FRATCH, but no verb, so no FRATCHED*. |
fricking | an expletive intensifier. No verb FRICK*. |
fumado | not FUMATO* (you're thinking of SFUMATO). |
furrier | this is a noun, 'one who sells furs', as well as the comparative of FURRY, so FURRIERS is OK. |
ghillie | not GHILLY*. As a verb it gives GHILLYING not GHILLIEING*. |
gliffing | the time required to give a glance, an instant. There is a noun GLIFF, but no GLIFFED*. |
goaders* | phoney. Try DOGEARS. |
greek | something unintelligible: no GREEKS*. But GREEKED and GREEKING are OK (printing terms). |
grisled | no GRISLE*. |
gropings* | phoney (what, no GROPINGS in the back of the car?). Try PROGGINS. |
guise | there is no GUIZE*, despite AGUIZE and GUIZER. |
hasbeen* | phoney. Try BANSHEE, BEENAHS or SHEBEAN. |
hatter | one who makes hats, but also a verb: to vex, annoy: HATTERS, HATTERED, HATTERING. |
hattrick* | phoney: two words or hyphenated. |
hellier | this is a noun: a slater or tiler, not the comparative of an adjective HELLY*. |
hillmen | people living in the hills, but there is no HILLMAN*. |
hokku | a series of HAIKU. No HOKKUS*, though HAIKU now does take -S. |
hong | (obs.) to hang: HONGS, HONGING but no HONGED*. |
hotter | can be a verb, to tremble: hence HOTTERS, HOTTERED, HOTTERING. |
humbler | a noun, 'one who humbles', as well as the comparative of HUMBLE, hence HUMBLERS. |
inflexed | turned inwards. No verb INFLEX*. |
ingrown | this and INGROWING are OK, but there is no INGROWS* or INGREW*. |
inhouse* | phoney. Try HEINOUS. |
inlier | a rock information. Not the comparative of INLY, so do not infer an INLIEST*. |
inlying | lying within. No verb INLIE*. |
jetlag | OK but no JETLAGGED*. |
jokol | no JOKOLS*. |
jollier | a noun, 'a joker', as well as the comparative of JOLLY, hence JOLLIERS. |
jun | a monetary unit of South Korea. No JUNS*. But the variant CHON does give CHONS. |
juster | a noun, 'one who sells justs (jousts)', as well as the comparative of JUST, so JUSTERS is OK. |
kart | there is KARTING but no KARTED*. |
keener | can be a noun, 'one who keens (laments)', as well as the comparative of KEEN, hence KEENERS. |
kiddier | 'a huckster, a cadger', and not the comparative of an adjective KIDDY, though KIDDY is OK as a verb. |
kuvasz | a breed of sheepdog. The plural KUVASZOK. |
kyne | (Scots) cattle. Already plural: no KYNES*. |
landwind | there is no SEAWIND*. |
leafmold | there is no LEAFMOULD*. |
lentigo | a freckle or freckle-like condition: pl. LENTIGINES not LENTIGOS*. |
lightwave | relating to a wave of light. Adjective only: no LIGHTWAVES*. |
likuta | a monetary unit of Zaire. The pl. is MAKUTA not LIKUTAS*. |
loathy | no LOATHIER* (try AEROLITH) or LOATHIEST* (try HELIOSTAT). |
longer | a noun, 'one who longs', as well as the comparative of LONG, hence LONGERS. |
losen | (Spenser) to lose. Infinitive only: no verb forms. |
loti | a monetary unit of Lesotho: the pl. is MALOTI not LOTIS*. |
lubfish | a kind of dried fish. No LUB*. |
luge | gives LUGING or LUGEING, both of which take -S. |
lusher | this is a noun, 'an alcoholic', as well as the comparative of LUSH, so LUSHERS is OK. |
madder | a noun, a kind of dye, as well as the comparative of mad: hence MADDERS. |
magyar | of a garment, cut with the sleeves in a piece with the rest. No MAGYARS*. |
malist | not an adherent of MALISM, but an old Spenserian past of MALICE, to bear ill till. So no -S. |
manful | no WOMANFUL* (but there is WOMANFULLY). |
maraging | a process in metallurgy. No verb MARAGE*. |
marver | this is a noun or verb, not the comparative of an adjective MARVE* (you're thinking of MARVY). So no MARVEST*. |
mega- | don't assume all KILO compounds have a corresponding MEGA compound e.g. KILOBIT/MEGABIT, KILOBYTE/MEGABYTE, KILOBAR/MEGABAR, KILOBAUD but not MEGABAUD*. |
melamed | a teacher in a Jewish school: the pl. is MELAMDIM not MELAMEDS*. |
metaplot | nothing to do with modern novels, but the pl. of METAPELET, a woman acting as a foster-mother to children on a kibbutz. No METAPLOTS*. |
mid | has superlative MIDDEST, situated most nearly in the middle, but no MIDDER*. |
millier | a noun (a unit of measure), not the comparative of an adjective MILLY*. |
minished | past tense of MINISH, not 'a small shed'. So no MINISHEDS*! |
misavised | (Spenser) ill-advised. No verb MISAVISE*. |
misbegot | begotten by mistake. No verb MISBEGET*. |
misbegotten | begotten by mistake. No verb MISBEGET*. |
misgotten | unjustly gotten. No verb MISGET*. |
mistreading | a false step. No verb MISTREAD*. |
most | gives MOSTEST but not MOSTER*. |
motey | not MOTY*. |
niellated | inlaid in NIELLO. No verb NIELLATE*. |
nightside | OK, as is DAYSIDE, but despite 'Star Wars' there is no DARKSIDE*. |
nodated | knotted. No verb NODATE*. |
nodulated | having or characterized by nodular growths, esp. root nodules. No verb NODULATE*. |
noncling | an adjective meaning 'that does not cling'. There is no verb NONCLE*! |
nontarget | adjective only: no NONTARGETS*. |
only | has a superlative ONLIEST but no comparative ONLIER*. |
opalised | made smooth, like OPAL. No OPALISE*. |
opalized | made smooth, like OPAL. No OPALIZE*. |
outcurve | a type of pitch in baseball. Not a verb, so no OUTCURVED* or OUTCURVING*. |
outedge | an outer limit. Noun only, so no OUTEDGED* or OUTEDGING*. |
outjet | a projection. Not a verb, so no OUTJETTED* or OUTJETTING*. |
outroop | a noun meaning a kind of auction, not a verb, so no OUTROOPED* or OUTROOPING*. |
outrope | a noun meaning a kind of auction, not a verb, so no OUTROPED* or OUTROPING*. |
outsaw | this is the past of OUTSEE and not a verb in its own right meaning 'to exceed in sawing'. So no OUTSAWS*. |
overflush | noun or adjective, but not a verb, so no OVERFLUSHED* or OVERFLUSHING*. |
overinked | concealed by the use of ink. No verb OVERINK*. |
ovist | a believer in the doctrine that the ovum contains all future generations in germ. No OVISM*. |
ower | not 'someone who owes' but Scots for 'over', so no OWERS*. |
paisano | a fellow countryman: pl. PAISANOS not PAISANI* - despite the fact that the variant PAESANO can be either PAESANI or PAESANOS in the plural. |
palmier | this is a noun, 'a kind of pastry', as well as the comparative of PALMY, so PALMIERS is OK. |
panto | pl. is PANTOS not PANTOES* (try TEOPANS). |
pearlised | treated so as to give a pearl-like finish to. No PEARLISE*. |
pearlized | treated so as to give a pearl-like finish to. No PEARLIZE*. |
pedal | PEDALLING/PEDALLINGS but PEDALING and not PEDALINGS*. |
-penny | FIVEPENNY, EIGHTPENNY and TENPENNY are adjectival only; all other PENNY compounds can be pluralised. |
percen | (Spenser) to pierce. Infinitive only: no verb forms. |
petlike* | phoney. Try PIKELET. |
pice | an Indian coin, 1/4 anna. No PICES*. |
piratize* | phoney. Try TRAPEZII. |
plumper | a noun, 'one who plumps', as well as the comparative of PLUMP, so PLUMPERS is OK. |
plumpie | an adjective, plump, not a pie with plums in, so no PLUMPIES. |
pompier | 'uninspired, conventional', not the comparative of an adjective POMPY*. |
potato | pl. is POTATOES not POTATOS*. |
preassembled | assembled in advance. No verb PREASSEMBLE*. |
precited | cited in advance. No verb PRECITE*. |
predial | not a verb meaning to dial in advance, but an adjective or noun meaning connected with the land. So PREDIALS is OK, but no PREDIALLED* or PREDIALLING*. |
prefilled | filled in advance. No PREFILL*. |
prefits* | phoney. Try PRESIFT. |
prehiring | taking place before hiring. No verb PREHIRE*. |
premade | made in advance. No verb PREMAKE*. |
preplant | taking place before planting. Adjective only: no PREPLANTS*, PREPLANTING* or PREPLANTED*. |
prereview | taking place before a review. Adjective only: no PREREVIEWS*, PREREVIEWING* or PREREVIEWED*. |
presplit | taking place before a split. Adjective only: no PRESPLITS* or PRESPLITTING*. |
prime | does not compare: PRIMER is OK as a noun , but there is no PRIMEST*. Try IMPREST or PERMITS. |
pulik | this is a plural of PULI, a kind of dog (can also be PULIS): no PULIKS*. |
pushings* | phoney. Try GUNSHIPS. |
putamen | a fruit stone; pl. is PUTAMINA not PUTAMENS*. |
quep | an interjection: no QUEPS*. |
quop | to throb; not QUAP*. |
radiale | not RADIALES* - the plural is RADIALIA. Try SALARIED. |
ranker | a noun, 'a person who serves or has served as a private soldier', as well as the comparative of RANK, so RANKERS is OK. |
rascally | has superlative RASCALLIEST (from Shakespeare) but no comparative RASCALLIER*. |
rather | has superlative RATHEREST but no comparative RATHERER*. |
reburned* | phoney. Try BURDENER. |
recenter | not an American spelling of RECENTRE, but the comparative of RECENT, so don't try RECENTERS*. |
redder | can be a noun, 'one who redds (tidis up)', as well as the comparative of RED, hence REDDERS. |
redeny | OK, but no REDENIAL*. |
reinput* | phoney. Try REPUNIT. |
remediat | this is an adjective, so no REMEDIATS*. But it does take an -E. |
remines* | phoney. Try ERMINES. |
renoted* | phoney. Try ERODENT. |
renotes* | phoney. Try ESTRONE. |
rereward | not a verb meaning 'to reward again', but a noun meaning the rearguard of an army, so REREWARDS is OK, but no REREWARDED* or REREWARDING*. |
resave* | phoney. Try AVERSE or REAVES. |
resaved* | phoney. Try ADVERSE or EVADERS. |
resaving* | phoney. Try VINEGARS. |
rescans* | phoney. Try ANCRESS or CASERNS. |
restable | not an adjective, 'that can be rested' but a verb 'to stable again'. So RESTABLES etc. |
retiary | an adjective meaning 'fighting with a net'. No RETIARIES*. Someone who fights with a net is a RETIARIUS (pl. RETIARII). |
retoned* | phoney. Try ERODENT. |
retones* | phoney. Try ESTRONE. |
revulsed | affected with revulsion. There is no verb REVULSE*. |
rew | though Chambers clearly implies that this is a verb, an old form of to rue, there is no REWING*. There is REWED, but only with the meaning 'to wed again'. |
righter | this is a noun, 'one who rights', as well as the comparative of RIGHT, so RIGHTERS is OK. |
riley | not RILY*. |
riotise | noun only: no RIOTISING* or RIOTISED*. |
riotize | noun only: no RIOTIZING* or RIOTIZED*. |
rippier | a seller of fish, and not the comparative of an adjective RIPPY*. |
roborating | restoring health or vigour. No verb ROBORATE*. |
rockier | this is a noun, a kind of dove, as well as the comparative of ROCKY, so ROCKIERS is OK. |
ronne | (Spenser) to run. Infinitive only: no verb forms. |
rosier | this is a noun, a rose-bush, as well as the comparative of ROSY, so ROSIERS is OK. |
rougher | can be a noun, 'one who roughs': hence ROUGHERS. |
royal | ROYALLER, ROYALLEST - not ROYALER*, ROYALEST*. This is despite the fact that one can have LOYALER or LOYALLER, LOYALEST or LOYALLEST. Don't you just love the English language? |
rype | a ptarmigan: the pl. is RYPER, not RYPES*. |
saltier | this is a noun, a kind of cross, as well as the comparative of SALTY, so SALTIERS is OK. |
saucier | the comparative of SAUCY, but it now also means 'a chef who specialises in sauces' so can take an -S. |
score | be careful with the multiples: there is THREESCORE, FOURSCORE, SIXSCORE, EIGHTSCORE and NINESCORE but no TWOSCORE*, FIVESCORE* or SEVENSCORE*. |
scroddled | made of clay scraps of different colours. No SCRODDLE*. |
sealion* | phoney. Try ANISOLE. |
seecatch | a fur seal: the pl. is SEECATCHIE not SEECATCHES*. |
semidarkness | a state between dark and light. No SEMIDARK*. |
semitic* | phoney. Try MISCITE. |
sheatfish | there is no SHEAT*. |
sheetfed | no SHEETFEED*. |
shier | this is a noun, 'a horse that shies', as well as the comparative of SHY, so SHIERS is OK. |
siliconised | of glassware, coated with silicon. No SILICONISE*. |
siliconized | of glassware, coated with silicon. No SILICONIZE*. |
skiwear | post CSW15, this is now the only noun ending in -WEAR that does not take -S: no SKIWEARS*. |
snowsurfing | no SNOWSURF*. |
sokaiya | in Japan, a corporate racketeer. No SOKAIYAS*. |
sooner | this is a noun, one who settles on government land before it is officially opened for settlement, as well as the comparative of SOON, so SOONERS is OK. |
sparsedly | sparsely. No SPARSED*. |
spirated | voiceless. No SPIRATE*. |
spoffy | no SPOFFIER* or SPOFFIEST*. |
spoonfed | no SPOONFEED*. |
spurry | this can be a noun, meaning a kind of plant, or an adjective meaning spur-like. The adjective does not compare, so no SPURRIEST*, but just to confuse you there is a noun SPURRIER, meaning one who make spurs. |
stepdancing | doing a step dance. No STEPDANCE*. |
stimie | gives STIMYING not STIMIEING* (though STYMIE gives STYMIEING). |
storiated | decorated with elaborate ornamental designs. No STORIATE*. |
suspence | (Milton) suspended, held back. Adjective only: no SUSPENCES*. |
swinging | as an adjective, has superlative SWINGINGEST but no comparative SWINGINGER*. |
swiss | a cotton fabric. There is a noun SWISSING, meaning a kind of treatment of cloth, but no SWISSED*. |
tablier | this is a noun, not the comparative of an adjective TABLY*. |
tadvance | (Spenser) to advance. Infinitive only: no verb forms. |
taffetized | having a crisp finish. No verb TAFFETIZE*, and no TAFFETISE*. |
tanalised | of timber, treated with Tanalith, a proprietary preservative. No TANALISE*. |
tanalized | of timber, treated with Tanalith, a proprietary preservative. No TANALIZE*. |
tangentally | in the direction of a tangent, tangentially. N.B. there is no adjective TANGENTAL*, only TANGENTIAL, but Chambers specifically gives both TANGENTALLY and TANGENTIALLY as the adverb. |
tarrier | a noun, 'one who tarries', as well as the comparative of TARRY, hence TARRIERS. |
tasswage | (Spenser) to assuage. Infinitive only: no verb forms. |
teaset* | phoney. Try ESTATE or TESTAE. |
teasets* | phoney. Try ESTATES. |
tegulated | composed of plates overlapping like tiles. No TEGULATE*. |
temene | this is the pl. of TEMENOS, a sacred precinct. No -S. |
titmose | Spenserian for TITMOUSE: the plural is TITMICE not TITMOSES*. |
tomato | plural is TOMATOES not TOMATOS*. |
tomfool | there is TOMFOOLISHNESS but no TOMFOOLISH*. |
tossen | (Spenser) to toss. Infinitive only: no verb forms. |
townfolk | no TOWNFOLKS*. But the alternative TOWNSFOLK does give TOWNSFOLKS. |
trendsetting | There is no verb TRENDSET*. |
ugli* | phoney: the fruit still has a capital. |
umbrated | no UMBRATE*. |
uncling | not a verb meaning 'not to cling', but the participle of a verb UNCLE, to address as uncle. |
uncoating | this is OK and so is UNCOATED but there is no verb UNCOAT*. |
undate | an adjective meaning wavy, not a verb, so no UNDATES*. But UNDATED is OK, meaning not dated. |
underlit | lit from below. No UNDERLIGHT*. |
ungravely | (Shakesp.) not gravelly. There is no UNGRAVE*. |
unkid | a Scots adjective meaning 'strange', not a verb meaning to deprive of kids! |
unpeeled | not peeled. No verb UNPEEL*. |
unrip | pt. is UNRIPPED only, though the past tense of RIP can be RIPPED or RIPT. |
untaped* | phoney. Try UNADEPT. |
untapes* | phoney. Try PEANUTS or PESAUNT. |
unticked* | phoney. Try TUNICKED. |
untrain* | phoney. Try URINANT. |
unwive | to deprive of a wife - not UNWIFE*. But UNWIFELY is OK. |
upflashing | flashing up. No verb UPFLASH*. |
upstretched | no verb UPSTRETCH*. |
uptitling | the practise of conferring grandiose titles on employees doing relatively menial jobs. No verb UPTITLE*. |
vagrom | vagrant. Adjective only: no VAGROMS*. |
vizier | at least one person is reported to have thought that this noun (a Muslim minister) was the comparative of an adjective VIZY, and assumed the existence of a VIZIEST*. VIZY is OK, but is a noun or verb. |
void | this does not compare: there is a noun VOIDER (one who voids) but no VOIDEST* (try DOVIEST). |
vraicking | the act of gathering VRAIC, a kind of seaweed, as performed by a VRAICKER. But don't try VRAICKED*. |
wanty | this is a noun: no WANTIER* or WANTIEST*. |
wasserman | a man-shaped sea-monster. No WASSER*, and the plural is WASSERMEN not WASSERMANS*. |
webfed | no WEBFEED*. |
wheenge | gives WHEENGING not WHEENGEING* (although PEENGE gives PEENGING or PEENGEING). |
winebar* | phoney. Try WEBINAR. |
writhled | shrivelled. No WRITHLE*. |
wrizled | wrinkled. No WRIZLE*. |
yesty | no YESTIER* or YESTIEST*. |
ygo ygoe | these are past tenses - no YGOS* or YGOES*. |
yokul | no YOKULS*. |
yom | a day: the pl. is YOMIM not YOMS*. |
yoyo* | Phoney. The word is hyphenated. |
zapata | denoting a kind of flowing, drooping moustache. Adjective only: no ZAPATAS*. |
ziptop | adjective 'having the top opening fastened with a zipper'. No ZIPTOPS*. |
zite | a type of pasta like large macaroni. No ZITES*. |
zonate | adj. only, with variant ZONATED, but no ZONATES*. |